“Kill painful memories by creating better ones.”
There is so much to do at the PTSD Retreat Competa that it would be impossible to experience everything in just one holiday. However the variety of activities on offer allows guests to choose exactly what they feel would suit them best.
The PTSD Retreat Competa does offer themed challenge weeks for PTSD veterans, providing a specific objective which they can achieve as a team; re-experiencing the camaraderie and the “against the odds” mentality which so many PTSD sufferers miss. Click here for details of our tailored weekend and week-long challenges.
Otherwise, read on to see what is on offer in the area.
Trekking the Axarquia
The trekking begins just outside the door of the PTSD Retreat Competa. One can walk for hours, days, even weeks, on well-signed paths both above and below the tree-line. The walking suits all ages and all levels, from beginners to advanced. One can walk just for a few hours and take a picnic, or set off for an all-day hike. There are three major peaks in the area and PTSD sufferers, and their families, are invited to walk to their summits with a guide, either choosing one mountain or participating in our Three Peak Challenge . All guided walks by our partner company Competa Hikes offer magnificent views of the Costal Del Sol coastline and the Sierra Nevada, with hundreds of days of sunshine per year guaranteed. The local guides take the hassle out of map reading, and know all the best refuges and how to get to the best spots for lunch. All the guides are very mindful of what our guests need most. If you want to walk in silence, just enjoying the views, that’s fine, but if you would like to learn some of the history and folklore of the region, they will be ready with a whole host of stories too. At the PTSD Retreat Competa it is your holiday and you decide what you need most.
Walkers can also go looking specifically for wildlife and birds, wild orchids and other flora, medicinal roots and mushrooms with guides who are experts at foraging them out.
Walk to the ‘Lost Village’
El Acebuchal, the proper name of the ‘Lost Village’, was an important staging post on the ancient mule-trading routes between Competa, Frigiliana, Nerja and Granada. But the village became caught up in a battle between the Franco regime and guerillas in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. The authorities believed the villagers were supporting the rebels and, in 1948, ordered all 200 people to leave, and leave everything behind. For fifty years it went to rack and ruin, until the son of one of the villagers returned and started its restoration. Now, all 36 houses, the chapel and the tavern, have been returned to how they once were.
Cycling
Competa is a road cycling mecca for top road bikers. The 16-km twisting and turning ascension from Algarobbo and the Costal Del Sol coastline, to the traditional Spanish whitewashed town, is legendary among cyclists. It is often used by competition road bikers in training, and the parallel roads, with the same twists and turns all the way down to Torrox or Torre Del Mar, provide for a nearly 50 km loop with spectacular scenery and flora and fauna. In addition, each coastal town has cycling lanes along the seafront promenades. From Competa, cyclists who don’t wish to descend to the coast can strike out west towards Lake Vinuela, enjoying the sweeping roads and precipitous bends beneath the La Moroma mountain, passing the villages of Salares, Sedella and Canillas de Aceituno on the way.
The PTSD Retreat Competa’s cycling partner, Cycle Malaga, which is based in Competa, can offer a total of 64 different routes along nearly 5,000 km of paths and roadways – more than enough to keep any avid cyclist busy for days or weeks. Carbon and aluminium road bikes are provided. And for those who would love the ride but feel they don’t have the ability to climb all those hills, electric (pedal-assisted) bikes are also available. For the recreational rather than competitive bikers, the 20km downhill route from Canillas de Albaida (the neighbouring village to Competa) to Salares is a must do.
Mountain biking is the flip side of Competa’s biking attraction. Miles and miles of trails wind their way through the Axarquia hills, along mountain ranges and through moorish villages of the Sierras de Tejeda and Alhama y Almijara Natural Park. Competa and the Axarquia hills are home to some of the World’s best single track mountain biking trails. Cycle Malaga has the bikes and the guides to help guests experience the very best routes the area has to offer.
Kayaking and Paddle Boarding
The best kayaking and paddle boarding close to Competa is 20 minutes down the hill to the beautiful coves of Nerja and Maro, on the Costa Del Sol. The PTSD Retreat Competa’s multi-activity partner provider organises two-hour safari tours of the crystal clear waters and towering cliff coastline for all ages. The trips include a stop on a beautiful secluded beach where snorkelling is on offer.
Canyoning
Andalucia has some of the most beautiful ravines in Spain and three of them are close to Competa, allowing for a dedicated, multi-site, canyoning break. Our multi-activity partner company takes guests rappelling, jumping and sliding in the Barranco Moreno in Competa, the Barranco Almanchares near Canillas de Aceituno and the Barranco Rio Verde in Otivar.
The Barranco Moreno has the most impressive waterfall of the entire Natural Park at 17 metres high, which guests can abseil down. The natural rock formations also make for some of the most stunningly smooth rock slides of any canyoning location. Easy access to the falls means minimal walking distance, and at least five hours of canyoning fun, just a few minutes from the PTSD Retreat Competa.
Barranco Almanchares, underneath La Moroma mountain, can be found at the end of a spectacular drive through the Axarquia region. The stony gully, with smooth-sided rocks and natural pools, on a steep mountainside slope, offers more than ten rappels, some kettles and slides. The descent is exciting and challenging and makes for a memorable morning or afternoon away from the Retreat.
The Barranco Rio Verde, on the other side of the Natural Park at Otivar, is probably the most beautiful and fun place to go canyoning; accessed by an interesting mountain trail. Transparent sheets of water careering over the beautiful sand-coloured rocks creates waterfalls, kettles, slides and pools that allow multi-height jumps and fun rappels.
Dirt Biking
Trailblazers is the local provider to the PTSD Retreat Competa for dirt bike days out and tours in the Competa region. KTM and Honda bikes from 200 to 530cc have been chosen as the perfect selection to tackle the local terrain. Trailblazers, which has 16 years of experience in the hills around Competa, provides all the protective gear required for rides free of charge, as well as full vehicle support. The bikes and the equipment are all fully insured with no excess to pay in the event of damage to anything.
For those without a bike licence, the company offers Enduro and Moto X training days to get clients up to speed for off-road dirt biking. For one day expeditions, you can expect to cover more than 100 kilometres of off-road tracks. Trailblazers also works with the PTSD Retreat Competa to provide weekend or week-long tours of the region, riding a different series of trails every day, covering hundreds of kilometres of off-road mountain trails around Competa and its sister villages.
Horse Riding
For horse enthusiasts there are a number of riding schools close to the PTSD Retreat Competa. One of the most well-renowned is in the next village to Competa, just a few kilometres away, and offers everything from hour-long gentle treks for beginners to four day trail rides covering different routes every day. Los Caballos del Mosquin has 14 years experience in guided horse treks in the Andalusian mountains. If you prefer to ride on the beach rather than in the hills, there are several livery stables near Nerja, about 20-30 minutes down the hill.
Potholing
Potholing, or caving, is not an activity that suits everyone, but for those who enjoy it there are few places more interesting than the caves in the hills around Competa. Down at the coast are the Nerja caves, one of Spain’s most popular and spectacular historical sites. The Nerja caves are a series of huge caverns stretching for almost five kilometres and home to the World’s largest stalagmite, a 32 metre high column measuring 13 metres by 7 metres at its base. No specialist equipment is required to explore these massive caverns. But closer to home, just a short driving distance from the PTSD Retreat Competa is The Cave of Water. Our multi-activity specialist partner, Salamandra Aventure, leads two hour tours of this cave, showing participants how to clamber through narrow gaps between the rock formations, buried deep in the Axarquia hills.
Triathlon Coaching
Competa is home to one of the best triathlon training centres in Europe, run by British Triathlon Federation Coach and Tutor and certified IRONMAN coach Karen Parnell. There is no better sport to challenge one’s body to the absolute limit than triathlon. For PTSD sufferers, triathlon is the ultimate test of their physical stamina and their mental resolve.
Competa’s top-class mountaintop triathlon training establishment, Chilli Tri, welcomes PTSD Retreat Competa guests and offers specific training exercises and races. Karen Parnell herself, and fellow triathlon coach Jess Petersson, a two-time Olympian and pro IRONMAN triathlete, take charge of the triathlon training. For any PTSD sufferers considering competing in triathlons, there is no better taster than this. Click here for more information on weekend and week-long triathlon courses. For kiddies Aquathlon training click here.
Waterfall Day Trip
The PTSD Retreat Competa offers a full day out to some of the most stunning gorges in the Axarquia region, with large turquoise rock pools to jump into off the rocks, and swim in. A picnic is provided and guests get to trek on trails through the pines and the firs to reach the hidden spots, backed by waterfalls which they can sit in or climb behind. It is the perfect relaxing day out for a group of friends or families.
Cultural Tour of Old Malaga
The PTSD Retreat Competa takes its guests on a cultural tour of Old Town Malaga, for some sherry tasting straight out of the barrel in one of the oldest bars in the town. Along the way guests learn a little Spanish and have the opportunity to put it into use in the local fish market, ordering the catch of the day to take home to the Retreat for a sumptuous barbecue as the sun goes down.
Canuelo Beach Cliff Walk
There are so many beautiful coves and beaches hidden along the coast going east from Nerja, and just a short drive from the PTSD Retreat Competa. One of the widest and most remote is Canuelo Beach, a beautiful wide expanse of crushed-shell sand with a stunning coastal walk. We take you to the beach by minibus or car, and then our guide leads you along the crystal clear coastline to climb to the clifftop, overlooking beautiful natural caves. An old restored Moor Watch Tower divides the route between Canuelo Beach and the neighbouring Cantarrajan Naturist Beach which is just as lovely. This is a beautiful, relaxing day out, away from the tourist crowds, with total freedom and space to enjoy a relaxing picnic and swim.
Some of the activities on offer at the PTSD Retreat Competa come to the guests rather than the guests having to travel to them
One of these is a Spanish Tapas, Paella and Wine Tasting evening by the pool. It is an opportunity for everyone to sample traditional Spanish dishes and decide which Spanish wine they like best, while relaxing amid the pines, listening to the ever-present cicadas. The paella is cooked in front of the guests so people can help or take recipe notes.
Alternatively the Retreat offers a Spanish Flamenco evening also around the pool. A local Spanish band plays and everyone can join in with the dancing if they wish.
At the PTSD Retreat Competa all guests will go home feeling they have seen a true side to Spanish life.
PTSD RETREAT COMPETA 